Man gets 7 to 16 years in triathlete's hit-run death

School funding creates divide in attorney general's race

Good afternoon! Here's a look at AP's general news coverage today in Pennsylvania. For questions about the state report, contact the Philadelphia bureau at 215-561-1133. Ron Todt is on the desk. Editor Larry Rosenthal can be reached at 215-446-6631 or lrosenthal@ap.org. A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change. Expected stories may not develop, or late-breaking and more newsworthy events may take precedence. Advisories, digests and digest advisories will keep you up to date. Some TV and radio stations will receive shorter APNewsNow versions of the stories below, along with updates. TOP STORIES: CAMPAIGN 2016: ALLENTOWN — Mary Heintzelman shakes her head in disgust over the presidential election. She's hardly alone in her angst over the prospect of a November matchup between presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and likely Democratic pick Hillary Clinton. While 65 percent of Americans say they're interested in the White House race, just 23 percent say they're excited as the presidential contest shifts from the primaries to the general election, according to a poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. By Julie Pace and Thomas Beaumont. SENT: About 1100 words. ATTORNEY GENERAL'S RACE HARRISBURG — The Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania attorney general, Josh Shapiro, says he would not defend the state against a pending lawsuit challenging the state to fix what is among the nation's largest gaps in funding disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. His stance shines light on inequities in a child's education in Pennsylvania and shows how he and his competitor, Republican candidate John Rafferty, would handle the office differently. By Marc Levy. UPCOMING: 700 words. Stands for Viewing Harrisburg. EXCHANGE: EXCHANGE-VETERAN'S HOCKEY MISSION YORK — The York Polar Bears were all over the ice. Some pushed one leg in front of the other, rigid little robots just trying to stay upright. Others waved their sticks at pucks, sometimes hitting them, sometimes whiffing. A small boy melted into tears each time his father gently placed the helmet cage over his head. All of it swirled around Rich Garrison, the leader of this most unusual hockey team. He knelt at the ice's edge, determined to get a 9-year-old ready for practice. The players range from ages 5 to 16 and play on one of the only sports teams in York County specifically for disabled children. The idea came from Garrison, 54, after he was disabled from overseas duty with the U.S. Army. He deals with his most serious battle scars on the inside, and the hockey team seems to energize him each Monday. Frank Bodani, York Daily Record. EXCHANGE-WAITING FOR ENERGY REBOUND WASHINGTON, Pa. — When two professionals in the oil and gas industry spoke April 19 to 100 people at South Franklin Township fire hall about the future of the Marcellus and Utica shales, the crowd was particularly attentive. The audience included many landowners, some bankers and attorneys, and representatives from the area's philanthropic community, waiting with anticipation to learn when the industry - in a downturn since early 2015 - might return. The analysts told the group they believe the industry is poised for a comeback in the region in the third quarter of 2017. Mostly missing from the audience that night were the people who have staked a portion of their businesses on the fortunes of oil and gas production in the Marcellus and Utica shales - those who make up the supply chain for an industry that extends across Pennsylvania and into West Virginia and eastern Ohio. Michael Bradwell and Rick Shrum, (Washington) Observer-Reporter. EXCHANGE-MIKVAH KEEPER RETIRING PITTSBURGH — The phone rings on a typically quiet afternoon, and Malka Markovic pushes back her chair and walks slowly but purposefully to the phone on the wall. The woman at the other end of the line makes an appointment for that evening, and the call is soon complete. For nearly 30 years, Markovic of Squirrel Hill has provided a steady, discreet service to Jewish women as the live-in supervisor of a mikvah, a small pool used for ritual bathing. With the imminent opening of a new mikvah elsewhere in the neighborhood, she'll soon be retiring — at age 92. It's the latest step in a long journey that began in her native Czechoslovakia in a poor yet close-knit village whose Jewish residents could only afford to heat the mikvah once a week by woodfire. Peter Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. EXCHANGE-DEAF CHAT HANOVER — Jeff Wright realized he had an aptitude for sign language when the class he attended to learn signing dwindled down to a private lesson. He'd barely even noticed. "We were at Chapter 17, and I'm the only one showing up regularly," Wright said of the course offered through his church, Hanover's Hope Baptist. "It was just something I had a knack for." Flash forward several years, and Wright is the facilitator for the Hanover Deaf Chat, an informal social gathering for the deaf and hard of hearing that meets the third Friday of each month at the Giant Food Store on Baltimore Street. The chat is an outreach of Hope Baptist Church, but it's a non-religious gathering. Anyone is welcome, and those who can hear often outnumber those who are deaf, Wright said. The get-togethers also draw American Sign Language students, who are eager to practice in real life what is theoretical in school. Clare Becker, The (Hanover) Evening Sun. EXCHANGE-YOUTHFUL NURSING HOME RESIDENTS QUAKERTOWN — Travis Brown's third-floor apartment in Bristol Township may not be fancy. But for him, it represents something very important. Freedom. A little over a year ago, Brown had vastly different accommodations. Estranged from his family and unable to care for himself following surgery to install a medication pump to control symptoms of cerebral palsy, Brown found himself living in a nursing home. He was only 28 years old. "It's no place for a 28-year-old," said Brown. "But it's better than living on the street. You had to do what you had to do." Brown stood out at the nursing home because of his youth, but his situation was by no means unique. While the majority of nursing home residents are over 75, the number of young adults living in such facilities is on the rise. In 2014, 15 percent of nursing home residents were between the ages of 31 and 64, up from 10 percent in 2000, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Crissa Shoemaker DeBree, Bucks County Courier Times. IN BRIEF: BEAVER FALLS SLAYING — A western Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to 12 to 30 years in the death of a man killed after a dispute a year ago. FRIEND BEATEN TO DEATH — A man has been convicted of third-degree murder in the beating death of a friend in northwestern Pennsylvania two years ago. JOGGER KILLED — A man has been sentenced to seven to 16 years in prison in the death of a woman struck as she was jogging in northeastern Pennsylvania a year ago SPORTS: BBN--PHILLIES-CUBS CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs go for their fourth straight win after dropping eight of 12 when they send Kyle Hendricks to the mound against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jerad Eickhoff starts for Philadelphia, which has dropped five of seven. By Andrew Seligman. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Game 2:20 p.m. EDT. BBO--PIRATES-RANGERS ARLINGTON, Texas — Yu Darvish makes his first start in the majors since August 2014, and since Tommy John surgery, when the Texas Rangers play the middle game of an interleague series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. By Schuyler Dixon. UPCOMING. 650 words, photos. Game starts 6:15 p.m. CT. ___ If you have stories of regional or statewide interest, please email them to phillyap@ap.org. If you have photos of regional or statewide interest, please send them to the AP state photo center in New York, 888-273-6867. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org or 877-836-9477. MARKETPLACE: Calling your attention to the Marketplace in AP Exchange, where you can find member-contributed content from Pennsylvania and other states. The Marketplace is accessible on the left navigational pane of the AP Exchange home page, near the bottom. For both national and state, you can click "All" or search for content by topics such as education, politics and business.

BC-PA--Pennsylvania News Digest, PA